


Heart, Soul

by returntosaturn



Series: A Different Sort of Magic [2]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 10:45:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8841559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/returntosaturn/pseuds/returntosaturn
Summary: "...But you have to make your own mind up about things, who you're going to be, what your going to give to the world. Don't let it control you, Credence."He was grimacing now, a fist clenched on the table between them. "I don't know if I can do that."Her heart ached a little for him. He was...or maybe could've been...a gentle and soft soul. But maybe all of that had been taken from him. He'd have to find his way back. It would not be easy, but she believed that he could.Non-magic, modern day AU. Part of the Different Sort of Magic series





	

Neither of them had spoken more than their names since they'd gotten to the station. They came with hands clasped and eyes low, deep worried frowns on both their faces.

The officer that had retrieved them had attempted to start a conversation, but to no avail. They just sat, huddled together, the boy leaning slightly over the girl as if he were protecting her, still as statues.

Tina was brought in, for whatever reason. She'd never made any indication that she knew how to speak with kids. Why did they think she'd be able to get them to talk if no one else could? But it was a slow day and the kids had had such a bad time of it already. She didn’t get all the details, but from what she understood, and what they’d been able to uncover, the mother was a crazy cult lady who’d birthed far too many children than she could care for, as a belief held by the denomination that to build a family was to build a following. They fended for themselves most of the time, and the boy her fellow officers had brought to the station had started to become the least bit rebellious in an effort to shield his sister from further harm. 

They must’ve been from different fathers, Tina thought, for the boy was dark eyed and dark haired, and the girl was fair. It didn’t really matter. Tina did wonder, though, why he’d taken to her. Had she been the youngest in the house? It was a vain sort of relief to hope that she might’ve been.

She rapped her knuckles lightly on the metal doorframe of the investigation room, earning their attention and then they were back to staring at the floor again.

"Hello," she said softly, not very confidently, trying a smile. "My name is Officer Goldstein."

No response.

She stepped inside, leaning the door to, just so that they’d have a little quiet but wouldn’t confine them. She sat at the table across from them, trying to work up something to say that wasn’t a question.

“I like your hair bow,” she said to the girl, whose lips started working in a such a way that Tina thought she’d burst into tears right then.

“Thank you,” she whispered inaudibly, eyes on her shoes.

Tina leaned on her elbows. “Are you guys hungry?” 

Their eyes pricked like summoned horses, but neither moved.

“We haven’t got a lot here, besides candy bars and chips and things like that…but I could probably whip up something simple. I’ll be back.”  
She returned just ten minutes later with two crude peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, on the only two paper plates she could rummage around long enough to find in the cabinets of the station’s simple kitchenette. 

“It’ll do, huh?” she said, sitting again. The boy’s hand fell from his sister’s when she inched forward, tugging her chair with her toward the edge of the table. Tina watched as she meticulously peeled away the bread crust.

The boy was still frozen, turned slightly towards the corner of the room now, ignoring her olive branch of a sandwich.

“Could I…maybe ask you some questions? I promise not to be too nosy. We just need to understand what happened at your house so we can help you. Do you think that would be ok?”

No one answered. The boy was still. The girl was rubbed the breadcrumbs from her fingers in slow motions.

“First. Could you tell me your names?”

“We told the other lady,” the boy mumbled, low and stony.

Tina leaned back, folding her hands in her lap. “Well, she didn’t tell me, and we can’t have a very effective conversation if I don’t know your names.”

“Modesty,” the girl whispered. Tina leaned closer, unsure if she was answering the question or saying something else off-topic.

She repeated it, even softer this time, but Tina had heard.

“That’s pretty.” She looked to the boy, who seemed intent on glaring at the wall til the drywall flaked away.

“Credence.” It was a sad mumble, and he shifted his shoulders as if shrugging the moniker away.

“Great. Can you tell me how old you are, Modesty?”

“I’m eleven. And he’s sixteen.” Her answer was more confident, but she didn’t lift her eyes from her plate.

“Have you always lived in this town?”

Modesty shook her head.

“Where did you live before?”

“In the city.”

“In New York?”

She nodded.

“Who did you live with?” She hoped it was a relative, someone who could retrieve them. She was too familiar with shuffling homes and changing spaces.

The girl shrugged a shoulder.

“I don’t know. Mama’s friends.”

Tina sighed, looking to the boy who offered no sign that he was going to corroborate, or for that matter, cooperate.

"Tell you what." She stretched, reaching for her wallet in her pants pocket. She set two newly creased dollar bills on the table. "Modesty...there's a vending machine right at the end of this hall. How about you go and get two bottles of water for yourself and your brother, ok?"

Modesty looked worried, like it might be a joke, but pinched the bills between two little fingers and slunked from the room, shutting the door noiselessly behind her.

The room grew still, silent but for the sound of the ticking of the cheap wall clock. Tina eyed the boy, wondering if she should just leave well enough alone. But then...

"I have a little sister too," she started. "Her name’s Queenie. Her name's actually Quinnella but we've always called her Queenie... Our parents died when we were very little. It's pretty rare these days to lose both parents at once, but unfortunately we did." She leaned back, watching the boy’s face for any sign of emotion.

"So we were taken into foster care because we didn't have any other family."

Credence hadn't moved a muscle.

"It was a little scary. But we were ok for the most part because we had each other."

His brow creased marginally. He was doubting her. 

"You have to take care of her," she said, her tone a little firmer. "I know you know that. And I know you’re scared. I know that you’re hurt...You feel like there’s no one to trust, because the one thing you thought you could rely on isn’t there like you thought.

“But you have to make sure that you're both ok. That you don't let any of that fear and pain dictate who you are, or who she is.”

He swallowed. If she hadn't been listening close, she wouldn't have heard him speak. "I won't leave her."

"No. And you shouldn't. Right now, you’re all she’s got. And that’s a big responsibility, Credence…” Her eyes pricked harshly. It was too close to home, even eight years later. She blinked, drawing herself together expertly.

He was silent again, looking deeply pained.

"It's so easy to become angry, Credence. It's so easy to be distrusting of people because of what others have done to you. To use all of that hurt that happened for something ugly. But you have to make your own mind up about things, who you're going to be, what your going to give to the world. Don't let it control you, Credence."

He was grimacing now, a fist clenched on the table between them. "I don't know if I can do that."

Her heart ached a little for him. He was...or maybe could've been...a gentle and soft soul. But maybe all of that had been taken from him. He'd have to find his way back. It would not be easy, but she believed that he could.

“Maybe not right now,” she conceded, nodding knowingly. His eyes met hers for just a moment, darting away when the door clicked open.

Modesty was tiptoeing into the room again, two bottles of water in the crook of her arm. 

"I'm going to see if we can get in contact with your caseworker. I’ll be right across the hall…in the big room where all the desk are if you need me.”

She didn’t exactly expect them to join her, but she figured it might a comfort at least to know that she hadn’t abandoned them like everyone else seemed to. Even if she was just a cop.

A family came that evening, and though Tina had had a full day of other cases by the time they arrived, she waited at her desk, watching from behind the plate glass as the children left, still stony faced and unsmiling though the husband and wife were putting forth their best efforts to be accommodating.

Modesty waved to her on the way towards the lobby, and she returned it with a smile. Credence shuffled forward, unblinking.

It was not happy. It was a long road to happy, but they would learn to get there together. As family so often did.

She reached for her desk phone, dialing a number she knew by heart.

“Sis…” she answered at her sister’s greeting. “Wanna meet me for ice cream? Yeah, in abut fifteen minutes. Thirty, fine. Nobody cares about your makeup, Queenie…” She reached to lock up her file cabinet.

“OK. I’ll just pick up a carton.”

“Double fudge?” the younger sister asked on the other end of the line.

Tina grinned. “You read my mind.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please be gentle with any details I overlooked about police departments and the foster system. I am but a humble small town dweller with knowledge of law enforcement that is limited to Law & Order and Google searches.
> 
> Also, if you've read my other piece, Butterfly Bandage, I'm sure you've figured out by now this is in the same world, obviously taking place before that piece.
> 
> There's might be more Newt at some point...we shall see. But this little story wouldn't leave me alone. I hope you enjoyed! :)


End file.
